Amebel- Red nights (part two)
by Hetaliawall
Summary: Now that these two forbidden lovers are dating how will they remain so with rising tensions between the Soviet Union and America?
1. Chapter 1

AmeBel Romeo and Juliet

June 19th

Alfred whistled a happy tune as he made his way down the streets of Moscow on his way to see his new girlfriend. He quickly avoided a police officer and waited with bated breath for him to leave. No one knew he was alive yet, and the last thing he needed was someone like an officer finding out. Once the man was gone Alfred hurried up the steps to Natalia's house and knocked exactly four times, their code. Natalia answered the door and pulled him inside quickly with surprising strength.

"Did anyone see you?"

"Nah I was as sneaky as a snake!"

Natalia rolled her eyes slightly and then gazed at the package in Alfred's hands.

"What is that Alfred?"

Alfred grins widely presenting her with the box and watched eagerly as she opened the painstakingly wrapped box. Inside was a simple silver necklace, with a small locket. It was a simple but thoughtful gift, something that would suit her.

"Happy one month anniversary Nat!"

Natalia's eyebrows rise in up surprise but she was quick to cover this up. She had been getting better at letting him see her emotions, but old habits die hard.

"You did not need to do this, I didn't even think of something like this."

Alfred holds up his hands in a "hold up" symbol.

"That doesn't matter, you are my girlfriend and I want to treat you right! So may I help you with the necklace?'

Natalia thinks for a moment before she nodded and turned around so that he could put the necklace on her.

"It looks great on you Nat! Now all we need to do is add some pictures to it."

Natalia's hand danced over the locket as she carefully tucks it into her dress.

"Well… Thank you Alfred…I suppose I should do something for you…"

With that she gives him a chaste kiss on the check, completely stunning him.

"Ahhh…..Thanks."

Even after a month of her kisses she still somehow managed to catch him off guard.

Natalia rolls her eyes slightly and leads him to the living room where they spend time together without fear of being seen through any windows.

After the initial jolt of surprise his face broke out into a wide smile as she sits down the couch with her, his arm tucked around her. This had become their routine. He would sneak over to her house, and then they would just sit on the couch and talk or sometimes watch a movie. Alfred didn't really care what they did, as long as he was with her. After a while though Alfred noticed that something was wrong. Natalia was being quiet. Well quieter than usual anyway.

"Hey Nat what's on your mind?"

Alfred turned off the old black and white movie that had been playing (her favorite) as she turned to him. She was gripping his locket with an iron grip, as if afraid to let it go.

"My brother is hosting a ball, and he wants me to find a man at it. He believes that if I get into an alliance with another nation then it will make the Soviet Union stronger… "

Alfred could only stare in shock. This couldn't be happening…No she couldn't be forced into a marriage! That happened in bad stories, but Alfred was supposed to be her knight. He was the one who showed her that the world was a fairy tale. He was supposed to keep something like this from happening. But once Russia was set on something, it happened. Always.

"Don't worry! We will figure something out, after all your hero is here!"

Natalia fixes him with an incredulous look and all of Alfred's facade faded away.

"Ok so… This is bad… But he can't make you marry you already have a suitor right? I mean if you tell him that you already have someone who you like maybe he wouldn't force you to go to the ball!"

"He would want to meet them Alfred…."

Alfred's flash of hope faded.

"Right…. So what do we do?"

Natalia shrugs, for once not having a plan. She had already tried everything that she could think of to make her brother stop the ball, but it was useless against his iron will.

"I will just have to not find a suitable man at this ball. I will just have to scare them all away. "

Alfred nods before smiling as an idea came into his brain.

"Yeah or….."

The ball- June 20th

Alfred tied his dark blue mask more snugly around his face and grins over at his brother who was doing the same with an elaborate red mask.

"Hey Canadia I really appreciate this man!"

Matthew sighs softly. Alfred had called him over the night before, and had secretly enjoyed the relief in his brother's eyes when he saw that Alfred was actually alive. It felt good to know that someone actually did care about him other than Natalia.

"Alfred I'm Canada…. And you're welcome."

Alfred chuckles softly and jabs his brother with an elbow.

"Ah I know I'm just messing with you bro! Now come on, we have a party to crash!"

Matthew rolls his violet eyes slightly but follows his brother into the daunting soviet ball. It was being hosted at night and all of the Soviet states were there, as well as other communist nations. The ladies were dressed in their best gowns and the men in suits, all were wearing masks. Alfred scanned the crowd until he found Natalia in a blue mask that matched his own.

"Perfect she got it! Ok then remember your role?"

Matthew nods as he gazes over the crowd for an initial check of who was there, and then his gaze stopped on one female nation.

"Yes of course! I stay in the background and make sure that Russia; A. doesn't figure out that it's you, and then B. keep him from killing you if I fail with part A."

Alfred grins happily and claps him on the back, nearly knocking the Canadian off of his feet due to his freakish superhuman strength.

"Thanks! I knew that I could count on you dude! Now go and talk to Ukraine, I know you've had your eyes on her for a while!"

Before Matthew's face could match the shade of his mask Alfred nudges him in the direction of the farming nation and turned his attention to his own Soviet state. Natalia was standing with a group of men but was not giving any of them any attention. He couldn't blame the men for wanting to talk to her, though it did make him just a bit protective.

She looked stunning in a blue formal gown, and the light off of her platinum hair gave her the impression of a halo, making her look even more like an angel than she usually did. She was his perfect heaven sent angel, and Alfred could only stare before getting snapped out of it when one of the men grabbed her arm, obviously intent on having her dance with him.

Alfred crossed the floor quickly, more for the man's sake than Natalia's. He knew that if she got angry she could knock him unconscious in three seconds flat, he had seen her do it before. Twice. And once it was to himself.

"Hello Miss. Arlovskaya, may I have this dance?"

Alfred gives her a hidden wink as she eyes him. His hair was neatly combed back for once, and he had traded Texas for a set of contacts. Without the presence of his glasses, Nantucket and of course the mask someone would have to look hard to be able to know who he was. Or least that's what Alfred was hoping for.

"Da, of course you may."

With one swift kick to the man's foot Natalia was released and free to dance with this "stranger." They swept out onto the ballroom floor leaving the men's muttered curses behind. A waltz was started and Alfred was more than happy to swing Natalia around the floor. As they were the only ones dances Alfred got the chance to whisper to her as they glided across the sleek floor.

"Hey Nat…"

"Da?"

"You look beautiful…."

Natalia raised an eyebrow but only looks away.

"And you are handsome. Did you bring your friend to help?"

Alfred nodded happily jerking his head to where his brother was chatting with Ukraine.

"Yeah he's there! Trust me if there's one guy to be a peacemaker, that's my bro Canada!"

Belarus narrows her eyes before she nodded, having finally found him.

"He blends in easily, that is good. We do not want my brother recognizing him."

Alfred nodded happily as he twirled her around faster, the music picking up its tempo.

"Yeah, he's good with that…. Did I mention that you look beautiful?"

Natalia sighs and dances closer to him as the song slowed down, calling for a more intimate dance.

"Da, you did Alfred…."

Alfred shrugs happily. He knew that he was dancing in the home of his enemy, but he had his angel in his arms. All was right with the world. The only thing that could make this any better would be if he could make his way to the food table on the other side of the ball room.

"Good, I can't let you forget that! People forget things if you don't tell them often you know."

Natalia looks away from the intense blue gaze of the American.

"You are too kind for your own good Alfred…"

"Nah, there's no such thing as being too kind!"

As the song ended Natalia could only shake her head while she quickly pats his cheek with a gloved hand.

"You are so oblivious….I wish…"

Her wish was cut off by the arrival of a smiling Russian.

"Hello Natalia… Who is this?"

Alfred trembled slightly as his faced down his red enemy; however he did not let his voice quiver as he answers in perfect Russian, with an accent to match.

"Hello! My name is Tanner Cook. I'm the representation of Antarctica."

Ivan eyes him and nods slowly, motioning for Natalia to go away so they could talk alone. Natalia does this sullenly and joins her sister and Matthew.

"Ah… I see. I did not know that Antarctica had a representation…"

Alfred smiles nervously and shrugs in a joking manner to hide his nerves.

"Ah I don't really do much other than hang out with penguins!"

Ivan nods giving him a smile as he seemingly approved of this candidate for his sisters hand in marriage for the moment.

"Well penguins are very nice, da?"

Alfred nods before being launched into a long conversation with Ivan about penguins, snow and other things like that. The more Alfred talked to him, the more surprised he became. As it turned out, they had a few things in common, along with their mutual love of Natalia. While Alfred's was of the romantic type, Ivan cared for her in a way that only a brother could. Finally Ivan turned to Alfred with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry but… I can't condone your marriage. That is if you want to marry her. You see I want the best for her, and Lithuania has land and people to offer. He can offer her a country, an alliance, an army to protect her. I hope you understand."

Alfred's world shattered before his eyes. Toris? His _friend_?!  
"O-oh yeah! Of course I understand!"

Ivan grinned and clasped Alfred's shoulder fondly.

"I am glad you understand! However I would love to go drink some vodka with you some time and perhaps you could show me some of your penguins?"

Alfred's trembles and clenched fists went unnoticed by the smiling Russian, who was instead watching Lithuania intently as he walked over to Belarus.

"Of course! That would be great!"

Ivan nods curtly.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of the ball."

And with that he left, leaving Alfred to his frantic thoughts.

' _This can't be happening! I-I mean, he can't really think that she likes Lithuania! Ugh what are we going to do?!'_

Alfred paced frantically across the gleaming floor to the door which led outside to the balcony. Maybe some fresh air would clear his mind. He walks outside with the drone of the party still within ears reach. He stands with his arms resting on the marble balcony as he looks up at the full moon.

"Where for art thou Natalia? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. "

Alfred shakes his head with a small chuckle. Even after a month having passed between the last time he had seen that play he still remembered that balcony scene.

"Yeah... Why did you have to be Ivan's sister… Ugh why does the world hate me! Why does it even matter! So what if she's communist! I love her!"

"Not everyone hates you."

Alfred whirled around at the sound, scared of whom it might be. However that fear was soon released as he lets out his breath that he did not realize he had been holding in.

"Hey Nat… Did you hear all of that?"

Natalia nods and joins him, her heels making sharp clicks in the mostly silent night. The drone from the party seemed to fade away as he focused on her.

"Da I did… You do realize that it is Juliet that says those lines?"

Alfred blinks stunned and then chuckles softly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Ah yeah… I know… But it seemed right to say."

Natalia nods turning to where she was facing him, their eyes locked.

"I am surprised that you remembered those lines exactly."

Alfred shrugs rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah well… I kind of memorized most of that play…"

Natalia tits her head, looking at him slightly impressed.

"Really?"

Alfred nods happily.

"Yeah! I just really like that play."

"Hmm... I thought that you would prefer something more like Macbeth, or Hamlet. More stories about throwing off a king…."

Alfred laughed a bit at her witty joke before he finally answered her.

"Nah, I like a good tragic romance."

Natalia's eyes suddenly darkened as she glanced at the soviet ball. Red was seen everywhere within.

"Then our romance must fill you with joy…"

Her eye were so miserable that Alfred was quick to pull her into a hug where he mumbled into her hair, wishing he could pluck his words out of the air and shove them back into his mouth.

"Hey don't say that! It's not going to be tragic, ok? We'll make this work, and that's a hero's promise."

Natalia looked up at him, staring into his nearly masked eyes.

"How can you be so optimistic? Don't you realize that we are doomed?"

Alfred smiles and quietly slips off his mask. He was himself now, and able to fully show off his wide grin which reached up to his eyes.

"Because we are in a fairytale, remember? The good guys always win, and they always get the girl of their dreams."

Natalia looks up at him and slowly leans up.

"I wish I could have your optimism."

Her wish was barely whispered as she moves to kiss him.

"NYET! NO! GET AWAY FROM HER!"


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred was shocked, almost as if someone had pushed him into an electrical fence. Although judging from the Russians angry aura Alfred would rather take the fence on.

"America…. What are you doing here? With my sister!"

Alfred backs up slowly as the shouting attracted a crowd of onlookers. Alfred could only glimpse Matthews blond curl through the crowd, though it appeared that he was trying desperately to get through the dense crowd.

"I.. Ok… So…. We're dating…"

Alfred quickly grabbed Natalia's hand as he faced down Ivan. The crowd was hushed, and you could have heard a pin drop, or perhaps the drip of blood which Alfred was convinced might come soon. He hastily draws out his revolver, seeing Ivan go for his pipe. Alfred could have been mistaken, but it seemed like Ivan's eyes flashed with red for a split second, then it was gone.

"Look… I know your mad bu-"

"Nyet… Mad is not the word for it comrade. You invaded my party, you dance with my sister and then you try to kiss her… I am not mad. I am furious."

Ivan walked towards him his scarf growing and flying towards Alfred's hand which held the gun.

And that's where it all went wrong.

The gun went off with a loud bang through the silent night. Everyone held their breath as people checked themselves until a shrill scream suddenly rang out, making Alfred's face turn a ghostly pale.

"HE SHOT CUBA!"

Natalia takes advantage of the chaos that ensued to grab Matthew and shove him and Alfred towards the balcony.

"JUMP! It is not a far fall, JUMP! Jump before I push you!"

Alfred nods hurriedly before grabbing the shocked Canadian and leaping with him down to the garden below. True to Natalia's words the fall was harmless and they were able to take off through the shattered night on to their hiding place.

"What are we going to do Matt? Ivan hates me! I SHOT CUBA!"

Matthew tried to calm his brother down but it was no use. Alfred was pacing through the apartment one step away from being in complete panic mode after the disaster that had just happened. "Alfred calm down! Let's call Francis and see if he has any advice for this! He is the country of love and diplomacy after all."

Alfred takes in a deep breath, and then lets it out. He repeats this calming process for a moment before he nodded.

"Ok… Sounds good…But only him for right now. No one else can know I'm alive…Well no more than those that already do…Like the entire Soviet Union…"

Matthew sighs and calls Francis. They wait a few anxious, jittery hours until he finally arrived. Francis was let into the house quietly by Matthew, who shut the door quickly behind him.

"Bonjour Mathieu, what is this all abou-…. Alfred?"

Alfred stands up and waves awkwardly as he managed a weak smile at the shocked Frenchman.

"Ah… Hey… So… I'm not dead..."

Francis turned to Matthew his face shocked and they conversed rapidly in French leaving Alfred completely bewildered. When they were finally done Francis looked a bit calmer and Matthew looked satisfied.

"Ah so Alfred… You love Belarus?"

Alfred looks up at Francis and nods slowly, but convinced, of this fact. More convinced about something than he had ever been really.

"Yeah I do. I love her more than I have ever loved anyone. When I look at her it's like looking at an angel, when-"

"Alright Al that's enough."

Alfred frowned at Matthew who only shrugs.

"You were ranting."

Alfred sighs and turns his attentions back to Francis who was watching with an amused smile.

"Anyway, yeah I love her, but can you do something to, you know, keep Ivan from killing me."

Francis ponders this dilemma for a moment before smiling up at Alfred.

"You two need to get married. Once a nation is married to another nation, they form an alliance. So when a nation wants to attack one, they cannot do that without attacking the other. Ivan would never attack his sister, no matter what. If you marry her then maybe you can at least buy some time until he calms down, and for your "Cold War" to pass."

Alfred thinks about this and soon he was smiling lightly just at the thought of her, his angel, also being his _wife._

"That's a great plan! Oh man but… What if she doesn't want to get married?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow as he stared at his brother incredulously.

"Al she saved you, formed a plan with you so that she would not have to marry another man, and has repeatedly shown interest in you. Trust me, she wants to marry you."

Alfred thinks for a moment before his face broke out into a wide smile, his insecurities forgotten.

"Ah… Yeah… I guess so."

Matthew sighs and mutters something in French softly before speaking once more in English.

"Ok so you need to get Natalia here so Francis can marry you two."

"Right! I can do that!"

Matthew raised an eyebrow at him before he really thought about it. Alfred was the only one that Natalia would go with, the only one she trusted enough o make her leave her house after that disaster that had happened a few hours prior.

"Yeah I guess you can just… Don't get killed."

Alfred gives him and Francis the thumbs up before leaving put the front door, ignoring Mathew's cries of "Wait! You need a plan!" But that was just silly; the hero always had a plan after all. He just hadn't thought of it yet.

By the time he had reached Natalia's house he had thought of a plan, and the chaos within the house had died down. It was the darkest time of the night, only the stars and the moon were out. Alfred admires the night sky for a moment before looking towards the dark house.

There was only one light on, and a silhouette could be seen of a female. Alfred advanced towards it quickly before seeing that it was Yekaternia and not her sister. He tried to retrace his steps to hide behind a bush but it was too late, she had seen him.

"America? What are you doing here?"

Alfred came out from the bush that he had tried to frantically hide behind and looks up at her nervously, something new to him. He usually wasn't nervous.

"Hey Yekaternia…Uhh... Is your sister there?"

"No, Ivan made her go to her room. You should have seen it, I didn't know that my sister knew such language…Wait, how did you get in? The walls are hard to climb."

Alfred quickly hid the small smile that flashed across his face, and shrugs.

"Err right… Is there any way that you could help me to see her? It's kind of important. Oh and about the wall thing… Yeah I kind of… Bust through it… No bigge…"

Yekaternia looks at him surprised before smiling softly, the exact opposite of what he thought she would do.

"You must really love her then to bust through a brick wall… I will get her."

With that she leaves Alfred alone to form what he would say to his soon to be wife, and to try and figure out her sister. He decided to focus on the speech to his wife problem; after all he had her figured out already.

He shuffled anxiously round the gardens before realizing something. He didn't even have a ring. After this revelation he panics for a moment and looks around the quiet garden frantically, trying to keep it quiet.

After some searching the best he could come up with was some wire that was holding up a wilted rose bush. He quickly twists this up into a circle and adds a small flower to the center before hearing Yekaternia come back, this time joined by Natalia. After exchanging some words in Russian Yekaternia left them alone. Silence enveloped the night once more.

Alfred looked up at her before she steps over to the side and leans down, speaking in a harsh whisper.

"Do you wish to die?! What are you doing here?"

Alfred quickly hid the ring and swallowed nervously before finally speaking, his eyes were fliting around not even staying on one place he was so anxious.

"Ah well uh… How's Cuba?"

"He is fine, considering that he was just shot… Alfred can you stop moving around? It makes you look guilty."

Alfred stops his frantic jitters quickly, a habit he got when nervous. They seemed to be at the max at this point.

"O-Oh yeah s-sorry… A-and hey t-that's good! Look…I uh… I love you!"

Natalia raised an eyebrow before sighing softly, a bit annoyed it seemed.

"I love you as well, but I love you more _alive_. You need to go."  
Alfred takes a deep breath, finally making his eyes settle on a small tree stump in front of him.

"No. I'm not leaving without you. Because I have something to ask you… Can you come down here?"

Natalia looks at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"I can't, they might hear me fall down and come looking."

Alfred sighs. Why did she always have to have really good points?

"Ok so… I'll just say it here... Ok…"

Alfred prepped for a moment and shut his eyes before beginning his monologue.

"You're like the sun to me. N-no you're an angel! I love everything about you. You are so beautiful, but that's not why I love you. You make me better! When I'm around you, I'm not just a goofball. I mean I am, but you also help me to think. I'm better when I'm around you. I can ignore what the others say about me. A-and I hope it's the same for you! I hope that I can help you as well. You're not just the scary girl, and I'm not just the idiot when we are together."

Alfred takes a breath before continuing his heartfelt rant.

"I want to make you laugh, and I want to make you smile. You have such a beautiful smile Nat and I want to show it to the world. I want the whole world to see you as I do, to see what I see. I see… The girl of my dreams."

Alfred peeked up to see Natalia covering her mouth with her hands, and he knew he was doing this right. He knew that she must be hiding a large smile under that pale hand, but she couldn't hide the light in her eyes that made them look like stars.

And so Alfred kneeled down on one knee.

"Natalia Alfroskaya, will you marry me?"

Alfred looked up in time to see Natalia pause, a stunned expression on her usually composed face. He didn't have a chance to study it for long however as soon she ran away from the balcony, making almost no sound on the tile floor. Now it was his turn to be stunned as he slowly stood up. Sighing he pocketed the makeshift ring.

"I must have done something wrong… What no-"

He was quickly hushed by a flash of platinum hair that rushed up and started to kiss him. When he was finally released he could only stare at her love struck as she pat his cheek, looking at him fondly in a gaze that was reserved for him and him alone.

"Now you give me the ring, because I say yes… moj idyjot"

Alfred looks at her, happiness was welling up in him and threated to drown him. His hands knew what to do even if his words didn't and he slid out the hastily made ring. He slides it onto her ring finger and kissed her again. Pulling back he puts his head forward so that their foreheads touched just slightly.

"I'll buy you a real ring later, I promise. Now let's go get married… My angel."

Alfred takes her hand and they exit the garden together, not even noticing that Natalia was in a full length night gown. He did notice ,however, her shivers.

"Oh… wait... You're in your nightgown... Huh...Sorry I was too nervous to notice. Here."

With that he takes his jacket off and wraps it around her. Then he hooked his arm under her legs and picks her up bridal style before she could protest.

"You can't argue with me on this one Nat, I'm being logical. If you walk like this your feet will freeze."

Natalia's mouth formed to make a sound and protest, but she quickly shut them. Even she couldn't argue with him on this. Alfred walked back to his apartment feeling very satisfied with himself and even a bit heroic as he burst through the front door, making Matthew jump.

"The hero has returned with his lovely lady!"

Natalia squirms at the sight of other people and Alfred quickly set her down and shut the door behind them.

"Ah, bien! Now I can wed you!"

Francis walked over to them and eyed her nightgown, Alfred's ruffled hair and dirty dress shirt. Matthew takes notice of this as well and after looking at Alfred hair he left in search of something, probably a hairbrush or a yard rake, whichever one would tame Alfred's hair better.

"You two cannot get married like this! I know we are not in a church but you should still look presentable. After all you two are to become one! Alfred go get dressed, mademoiselle may I help you?"

Natalia eyes France distrustfully for a moment, but after a nod from Alfred she goes with him to another room while Matthew began an attack on Alfred's unruly hair.

After much tugging on Alfred's poor scalp his hair was bullied into obedience and lay back flat on his head once more. Alfred had just enough time to put on a clean white dress shirt and some nice pants before Natalia came back in. Alfred could only stare at the magic that Francis had somehow performed. What used to be a night gown now looked like a corset dress, the pins in the back only helping the look. Her hair was in a braided bun and there was makeup on her face, although where Francis got that he had no idea.

"Nat... You look beautiful!"

"And your hair has been tamed."

Alfred chuckles softly walking over to join her in front of Francis as he and Matthew tried to find a bible to get started.

"Yeah, you have Matty here to thank for that."

Natalia nods with a small smile playing on her face and Alfred could only smile wider at the sight of it. Her smiles were like scared kids, they only came out when she though it was safe to let them be seen.

"I love that smile…"

"Oui, let's keep it while you two are wed."

Their attention was shot back to Francis as he gives them a joking wink and begins the ceremony. It was short and sweet, with the only witness being Matthew. There was no proper ring, no fancy dress, no cake, not even a real church.

But Alfred didn't care.


	3. Chapter 3

Amebel Romeo and Juliet 3

June 21th

The next morning Alfred made his way to the kitchen and started on breakfast for himself and his new wife. He scrambled some eggs, started on pancakes and even started to fry the bacon before Natalia finally showed up in the kitchen. She made her way over to him silently and hugs him from the back as usual before peering over his shoulder at the breakfast.

"This is a large breakfast…"

Alfred shrugs turning around and surprising her with a kiss on the cheek, enjoying the small twinkle of surprise in her eyes. Finally he had _her_ surprised for once.

"Yeah I know, but you deserve the best! Oh and I made coffee, you like that right?"

Natalia nods and pours herself some of the black coffee. She takes a slow sip and softly hums her approval before drinking the rest as he cooked. By the time that she was on her second cup Alfred was done with the breakfast and placed everything on the table with a flourish.

"Tada!"

Natalia peers over the table at her plate. Her eyebrows go up at the sight of a pancake with eggs for eyes, and a bacon smile.

"…It's a face."

"Yeah! Do you like it?"

Natalia takes an experimental bite and nods her approval once more.

"It's good, how did you learn to cook? Wasn't England the one who raised you?"

Alfred was finally at the table, having found the maple syrup. He slathers some over his pancakes and nods.

"Yeah he was but you have Canada and France to thank for my cooking skills…"

After a small shudder at the thought of the foods that he had endured as a child he eats his breakfast quickly as he looks over at the Tv. He turns it on and flips it to the news channel after much searching. After a few minutes of tense anticipation the news was over and the channel started to play some other show.

"Ok good news, no one has reported you missing yet. I bet your sister is helping with that."

Belarus nods still working on her smiley pancake. She had currently eaten half of it so that only the bacon smile remained.

"Yes, she is helping with that, how is Matthew doing with making sure that no one finds out about you?"

Alfred smiles at her, going for his second helping of cheerful pancakes.

"It's going great! No one knows that I'm alive except for Francis! Well Francis and the entire Soviet Union… But the point is that Francis is a great friend so he won't tell anyone… Well except for when he was taking my ships but anyway we fixed that issue! The point is he won't tell anyone until we are ready to make the announcement."

He sits back at the table as Natalia stared at the table, seeming deep in thought.

"And when will we tell everyone? How long will this "cold war" last between you and my big brother?"

Alfred looks up from his bite of bacon smile and quickly swallows, being serious for once.

"It'll be over soon, I promise. We just need to wait until that whole issue with Cuba has died down, and then we can tell everyone. Once we tell people our bosses will have to work out a treaty or something like that. You'll see it'll be over in a flash."

Belarus looks at the news which was showing protocols in case of nuclear bombs.

"I wonder which flash it will be… A flash of time or a flash of a bomb…"

Alfred takes her left hand quickly and fiddled with the ring on her finger.

"Hey it won't come to that. And if it does…. At least I might get some super powers out of it!"

Natalia sighed as Alfred just gave her a grin; at least she wasn't watching the news anymore.

"You are an idiot…"  
Alfred laughs softly, shrugging it off.

"Yeah but I'm your idiot! You married an idiot, remember? What does that say about you?"

"That I'm an idiot as well."

"Great! We can be idiots together!"

Natalia sighs once more and leans over the table kissing Alfred's cheek, leaving him smiling cheerfully.

"I suppose so."

Before this could get any more sweet for the Belarussian she exits the room to get ready for the day, but not before turning off the stove which Alfred had forgotten to turn off. Alfred watched her go before cleaning up the kitchen, letting his thoughts run wild a bit. By the time he had completely cleaned up the dishes and the table Natalia came back in, dressed in her usual blue dress. The ring was on her chain that held the locket, and she slipped this into her dress where it could not be spotted, but still close to her heart.

"You should have let me help."

Alfred shrugs and turns around to her, enveloping her in a hug.

"Nah I've got it! Hey… Nat?"

Natalia raised an eyebrow and looks up, seeing a slightly worried expression on Alfred's face. It stunned her a bit to see it.

"Yes?"

"You don't really think I'm an idiot do you? I mean… Everyone else does, so I can understa-"

"Alfred."

Alfred stops midsentence and looked at her. Natalia was looking at him with a look of half pity, half sadness. It was strange to see emotion on her face, much less two at the same time. But then again she was full of surprises.

"Yeah?"

"You are not an idiot, and I will stab anyone who says so… I'm sorry for saying it."

Alfred puts on a smile, so she wasn't like the others. _And_ she apologized.

"No its fine! I just... wanted to make sure is all!"

Alfred pulls her into a tight hug as he kept on smiling. She really was full of surprises.

Natalia slipped back home and left Alfred to try and negotiate things. Or rather figure out a way to negotiate things. This basically meant Alfred sitting at a table with multiple cups of coffee while trying to figure out a plan, but nothing was coming to him. His first plan had failed and now he was left with nothing. How could he explain to a guy who hates him that he just married his sister? If he had almost killed Alfred for just _dating_ his sister what would he do to him when he found out that they were now married?

The only solution was to not tell him. Or rather let someone else tell him. Someone who everyone loved and no one could find any reason to hate…

"You want me to do what now?"

Alfred sighs as he offered his brother another round of coffee. This guy drank even more than he did, which was saying something.

"I just want you to talk to Russia for me! I mean think about it, he hates me, but he doesn't hate you! No one hates you actually, so can I use that to my advantage just this one time and ask you for this one favor?"

Matthew sipped at his coffee for a moment before responding.

"I'm not sure Al, I mean do you really want to tell I'm the day after you shot Cuba?"

Alfred sighs softly as the guilt rose up in him again.

"Thanks for reminding me… And I didn't say anything about doing it today, just when things have settled down can you?"

Matthew shrugs and takes another sip of the hot drink.

"We'll I've helped you this far haven't I? After all you are just running up your bill for my amazing services."

Alfred just had to let out a small laugh at that.

"What do I pay you in, maple syrup or something?"

Matthew nodded with a completely serious expression on his face.

"Yes."

Alfred blinked for a bit in surprise before laughing loudly, making Matthew erupt into more subdued laughs. When they were finally done Alfred looked at Matthew.

"You know you can always pay me in burgers right?"

"Sure as long as you pay me in syrup."

"Deal."

Matthews POV

Matthew walked to his hotel trying to keep from being noticed too much, which was easy enough for him. The more he thought about the "issue", the more he realized that something had to be done sooner rather than later. It wouldn't be a good idea to let something like this "issue" fester. With this tough in mind Matthew forced his reluctant legs to go in the direction of Ivan's house. After all, their countries were on good terms, right?

Alfred was startled from his TV when Matthew burst through his door, bleeding from his head. Alfred scrambled up and helped Matthew to the bathroom where the medical kit was. It didn't look good. It looked like something had hit his brother on the head, and then scraped along it. If he had been human and not a nation, this surely would have killed him. As it was he was already fading in and out of consciousness, and he seemed delirious.

"Matt! What happened?"

Alfred applied pressure to Matthews wound, making him wince, but it had to be done.

"Well… I tried talking to Russia… and ended up… talking to his pipe…"  
Alfred tensed slightly, but kept a good grip on Matts wound, which was slowly stopping bleeding. It was one thing when Russia was messing with him; it was a whole different thing for him to mess with his brother.

"But... Why? He doesn't hate you! I mean come on, you're Canada! No one hates you!"

Matthew sighs as he was obviously struggling to think through the fog of pain.

"I don't think… he's the same... Ivan..."

"Ok… What the heck are you talking about matt?"

Maybe he was hit too hard…

"I mean… his eyes… were red... I think his bosses… are getting to him. Changing him… I think he needs our help Al."

Alfred tensed even more until Matthew winced, making him loosen up his grip.

"Yeah, no. I don't-"

"Al. Civil war."

Alfred stopped in his tracks, his mind itself tensed as his body seemed to stiffen. His mind was hurled into a flash back. Bloody fields of grey and blue, with a voice that had a low southern drawl urging him to keep on fighting his own people.

"Ok I get your point. Do you really think the same thing is happening to Russia?"

Matthew shrugs as Alfred finally finished getting him patched up. It only took a few stitches but Matthew was so out of it that he didn't really notice at that point.

"Yeah…I mean... red…. Eyes…Tybalt... Benvolio... next... is... Romeo... Juliet..."

Alfred raised an eyebrow and looked at Matthews eyes. They were glazed over and he was muttering softly.

Well that was just great.

"Ah yeah buddie… come on let's get you to bed…"

Matthew nodded weakly and Alfred led/dragged him to a guest bedroom and set him down in bed. As he left Canada fell asleep, looking for the entire world like he was dead, which quite frankly, terrified Alfred. He needed help.

As he waited around for France to come for the second time Alfred thought about what Matthew had said. The more he thought about it, the more he saw the similarities between theirs and Shakespeare's forbidden romance. On the bright side at least someone whom Matthew deemed to be Mercutio hadn't died yet, so at least there wasn't that similarity to worry about. Not that he was worrying of course, just… It was weird how alike their stories were. Or rather it was depressing.

Francis burst in at the perfect moment just as Alfred was about to cave in and call Arthur, the un-official Shakespeare expert. He ran frantically to the guest bedroom to save his "petit chou" or something like that. Honestly whenever Alfred called him and told him of the situation he started to speak French so quickly it was hard to keep track of if it was real words or just gibberish.

"Ah mon petit chou!"

Francis whirled on Alfred probably not even aware of that fact that he was slipping into his native tongue.

"Qu- What happened again?"

His accent was still much thicker than usual, but at least he was speaking English again. While Alfred did know "French" it was more Cajun, which might as well have been another language entirely.

"Look somethings up with Russia."

Alfred explained what happened while Francis started to check Matthews's vital signs. Or at least what he got from Matthew, and then what Matthew had said about the whole "Romeo and Juliet" thing. As Francis listened he got calmer and more professional now that he was also checking Alfred's stitch work, which he seemed to approve of. Finally he looked back up at Alfred, his expression guarded strictly.

"I think Matthew might be in a coma."

Alfred could only stare before his brain processed what he had really said. But surely it couldn't be true… They were nations, right? But then again, this was an injury from another nation…

"He'll be fine right? I mean he's a nation, and his country is fine right now!"

"I don't know nothing like this has really happened before when a country is not at war. Also this is a direct attack on the personification, not the land itself. We can only hope for the best."

Alfred hated every word of it. He hated how Francis was hiding behind a fake wall of professionalism when he was probably ready to break down like Alfred. Actually Alfred didn't know how to feel at the moment. He wanted to punch Russia, he wanted to cry, he wanted to slap his brother for going alone, he wanted to hug his angel and let her help him. But most of all he wanted to be a real hero for once.

"Ok. See you later Francis. Tell Matt when he wakes up that I won't be able to get him that maple syrup after all."

Alfred left the room and quickly slammed the door shut, and tossed the fridge in front of it so that Francis couldn't follow him. He armed himself with his pistol just in case, and left to the sound of Francis shouting in French and banging on the door.

Francis POV

He was pissed. Alfred was too rash for his own good. His illusions of being a hero always made him like this, ready to charge in at the first sign of danger to help. While it was endearing, it was also incredibly stupid, especially with whom he intended upon paying a visit.

There was only one person who might be able to get some sense into Alfred before he got himself killed. Francis sucked up his pride and called his old friend.

Arthur had been working on a new spell to make a certain frog face into a real frog when he heard his phone ring. It really was rude of someone to interrupt him at a time like this; he was just about to add the eye of newt!

"What is it?! Look this had better be important, I am right in the middle of something important!"

"Put down your spell book and get to Moscow right now!"

"France? What the bloody heck are you doing in Moscow you idiot?! ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Would you stop shouting?! Just because I am over the phone does not mean that I am deaf!"

 _This must be important, he hasn't called me black sheep, and it's harder to understand his accent than usual, which is saying something about that frog._

"Alright what is wrong? And speak slowly, you know I don't speak French."  
"Arthur, Alfred is going to attack Ivan."

"…What? Alfred is an idiot, but he's not that stupid…WAIT HOW IS HE ALIVE?"

Arthur paced his secret dungeon while Francis explained the whole story to him. He couldn't believe it. Alfred had just come back to life, and now he was rushing off to die again. And no one had bothered to tell him that he was alive in the first place! If Alfred survived his fight with Ivan Arthur would have to kill him himself.

"Alright, thank you, Francis, I'll be there as soon as possible."

Arthur hanged up and sighed heavily. A memory of a small brother smiling brightly like a beam of sunshine flashed through his mind.

"You bloody idiot…"

Belarus POV

Natalia was starting to hate the sight of red. It was everywhere she turned and it always reminded her of blood. It also reminded her of Alfred, with his red white and blue flag. But this red was not innocent or proud; it seemed to leak with a parasite that consumed her brother. He was not the same anymore; after Cuba was shot his eyes were red all the time. All he would talk of was marrying her off to Lithuania to strengthen the Soviet Union.

It was disgusting.

As if she would marry someone as weak as him. Perhaps he was "nice", but Alfred was as well. He also wasn't scared of him, and strong. His child like dreams of heroism had become endearing to her in a way that she could not fully explain. A weaker woman might have said that it was because they were looking for a hero all along, but Natalia could handle herself.

Despite this she was still a bit nervous to have to be seeing Ivan. He had called her to his office during the day, probably to talk about her marriage again. She knocked on his door and after hearing a light hearted "come in" she went inside.

Ivan was at his desk sitting in a leather chair. His smile was still on his face, but his eyes were that red color that Natalia hated so much.

"Hello Natalia! I have some wonderful news!"

"What?"

Nothing that he said right now could be good news to her.

"I have decided to get rid of that _pest_ once and for all, and my bosses want you to get married tomorrow. Isn't that great?"


	4. Chapter 4

Amebel Romeo and Juliet 4

She was right. It wasn't good news. In fact she could almost feel her heart freeze up from the cold aura that Russia started to give off. He had seen her worried expression; she was not quick enough to hide it, even if it was just a flash.

"Are you not happy? Is this not what we want?"

"Of course it is."

"Then why do you not look happy? Do you still have feelings for him?"

"I am just worried about how we will get rid of the… pest."

"Oh do not worry about that systra! I know that you must be worried for me, but I will be fine!"

With that Ivan gave _her_ a hug before pushing her out the door.

Her brother had lost his mind.

Alfred POV

Alfred didn't really have a plan, he never really did. But he had to help Russia. And if helping him didn't work, then... Well he had to avenge his brother, and save his own country. But for Natalia's sake he really would try to help. He just didn't know how. How could you help a man who A. hated you, and B. was currently being possessed or something by his boss's ideals?"

When it was the civil war the voice only went away after the war ended, and Russia wasn't at war. The only thing Alfred could think of was to assassinate Russia's boss, or confront Russia. The idea of killing a human didn't really sit well with Alfred, even if he was a commie, so Russia it was then.

It was midnight when Alfred arrived at Ivan's place. He really enjoyed the guard's expressions as he, America, showed up and just waved happily to them. He kept that smile on even as they started to drag him towards Ivan's office, not too gently either. However they couldn't kill him since they were only humans, so they didn't even try that again. They had all learned their lesson from the last time someone had tried to kill him. Alfred remained calm even as the guards cursed him for keeping that smile on his face.

Well at least until he saw her.

"Alfred?"

Alfred was drug away as he craned his neck to see Natalia. He managed to whisper out a "love you" before he was pushed into the head office, the heart of the Soviet Union.

The air in the room seemed to be subzero; Alfred could practically see his breath. The cold seemed to grab his heart and squeeze it tightly with an iron grip. If he stayed here Alfred could see himself as a Popsicle, frozen and with frost hanging off of his nose.

"Hello comrade. I always knew that you were an idiot, but surely you are not this idiotic. Perhaps I am dreaming?"

Of course it had to be "idiot", couldn't people think of a different adjective for him?

"Look Russia, I came here to help for your sister's sake. You know that we are dating but what you don't know is-"

"Is that she will be married to Lithuania tomorrow."

Alfred stiffened just a bit, but he kept himself calm. Toris would never do that, unless he was forced to.

"You can't make them."

"Who's to say that I am making them? Lithuania is ecstatic, and my sister will learn to love him."

Alfred clenched his fists to keep from punching Russia. He hated the words spilling out of his mouth, and he hated the red in his eyes. He also didn't want to believe that his friend Lithuania would do something like that.

"This isn't you man! You would never make your sister marry someone she doesn't want to, don't you care about her?"

Ivan stopped for a moment and a flash of purple flew across his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it had come.

"I am doing what is best for the Soviet Union... I can't allow my family ties to affect me…"

"Who's telling you this? Your boss? Are you really going to let your boss get in the way of you and your family? I thought you loved and cared for them! I thought you were stronger than this!"

Russia turned to him and tightened his scarf around his neck. His pipe was close at hand and his hand inched towards it. Maybe Alfred had crossed the line…

Francis's POV

He really hated that door at the moment. No matter how much weight he pushed against it the door would not budge. Knowing Alfred he was probably able to just toss a fridge or something like that in front of it. His superhuman strength was scary at times. Just as he was about to give it another go Arthur appeared in a flash of green light, scaring the poor Frenchman half to death.

"MON DIEU WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?"

Arthur calmly brushed himself off and shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's called magic, now where's Alfred?"

"If he was here than why would I be ramming myself against a door?"

"There's no need to get smart with me frog, now stand back!"

Francis bites his tongue and stands away from the door, allowing Arthur to take out his wand and blast down the door with a quickly muttered spell.

"Ah… So you do know magic…"

Arthur rolled his eyes and put his wand away, he was really tired of people being surprised at this fact.

"No I just flew here on wings. And then I busted down the door with my superhuman strength. Yes I know magic you bloody idiot! But right now we've got to get Alfred!"

Francis finally collected himself from his initial shock and nodded. They ran off together towards Ivan's house, trying to ignore the sudden cold that seeped into the streets of Moscow.

Belarus POV

For once in her life she was terrified. A real, cold, terror was coursing through her veins as soon as she saw Alfred's face being dragged away to Ivan's office. She didn't care who saw her as she ran to her room as fast as she had ever ran, her necklace bouncing along with her. Once at her room she grabbed her slender throwing knives and stacked them between her fingers so that they would be ready for action. What else could stop a fight between two of the strongest nations in the world? When she was ready she ran back down the hall, ignoring her sister's frantic calls.

As she burst her way into Ivan's office he had his pipe raised above Alfred's head, about to smash it down upon his skull.

"NO! BROTHER DON'T!"

Ivan stopped in his tracks as they both turned to her. Alfred's face fell, but she didn't care because she was focused on the flash of purple that once again flew across Ivan's eyes. If only she could get it to stay instead of that bloody red.

"What? Belarus, why are you here?"

"Big brother! Listen to me!"

Her old nickname for him seemed to make him pause. She seized upon this opportunity and started to edge her way in front of Alfred without either of them noticing.

"Do you remember Yekaternia giving you that scarf?"

Ivan nodded slowly as the purple flashed again. His grip on the pipe loosened, just the slightest fraction. She kept going.

"You always said that you would do anything to keep me happy and safe. Well Alfred makes me… happy."

Ivan's grip tightened once more on his pipe. She would have to tread carefully.

"I am finally happy… For once in my life brother. You would not make me unhappy again, would you?"

Ivan tilted his head, seemingly confused. In his world they were all happy within the Soviet Union.

"Were you really that unhappy before?"

"Yes."

"But... why him?"

"Because he is not scared of me! He loves me."

Ivan thinks for a moment, the purple peeking out again before looking at her neck, a glint of silver having caught his eye. In her haste the necklace that held her locket and wedding ring had come out of her shirt. Natalia's heart clenched and she tried to hide her obvious mistake, but it was too late. She looked at Alfred out of the corner of her eyes and saw the same fear in his eyes.

"What… is… that?"

Ivan's eyes were not flashing purple any more, instead they were red again, the darkest red that they had ever been.

"Nothing brother, a trinket."

"Nyet it is a ring… are you… are you married... TO HIM?"

Alfred's POV

Alfred could sense the coming danger as he slowly stood beside Natalia and tried to get her out the door. Pure rage rolled off of Russia as he seemed to be possessed by the communist voices ringing in his head.

"Oh I see… You are in "love"... You would put the good of the Soviet Union in risk for him… then I must eliminate him."

Everything happened so fast.

In one second Alfred could feel his world crumble with an explosion. It was like watching a movie from far away. He could dimly hear two people rush in through the door, he could sense Russia's fear as his eyes turned purple and stayed that way.

But he only had eyes for his fallen angel.

At the last moment she had flew in front of him, and guarded him from the pipe with her own body.

Alfred was snapped back to attention as he caught her before she could fall to the ground.

'NO! NAT!"

Belarus looks up blood pooling around her stomach as she stares into his eyes and closes them. Alfred panics shaking her like a mad man.

"No! Nat! Stay with me!"

It was too late, she was gone. His angel, dead.

The other nations stop as Russia walks over slowly. Each step seemed to thunder through the room which was as quiet as the grave except for Alfred's quiet sobbing. Russia kneels down and watches as Alfred holds her close, rocking slightly as he grieved. His heart felt like it was being ripped into two as he felt her grow cold in his arms.

"You… really love her don't you?"

Alfred looks up glaring, making Russia stumble back. No one had ever seen so much venom in the Americans eyes before. Russia himself seemed to be horrified, with himself and with the look in the Americans eyes that seemed to hold a wrath behind them.

"Yeah I do. Did you think I was joking? And now look. The only girl I've ever loved is dead… BECAUSE OF YOU!"

As Alfred looked at his angels limp body something snapped inside of him. He kissed her trying desperately to save her, after all life was a fairy tale right?

Right?

It didn't work and he knew then that he couldn't live without her. He wanted her. He _needed_ her. She was the only one who thought that he wasn't an idiot, the only one who seemed to want him around anymore except for Matthew, and he was in a coma from helping Alfred. And she was dead because she was also trying to help him! Wasn't he supposed to be the hero?

But at least Matthew was alive, Natalia was gone somewhere he couldn't follow… Unless. His frantic mind finally slowed down as it came upon the only solution. Why cause them all any more trouble?

His eyes were cold as he looks up at Arthur a new, strange hollow look in them replacing the sudden snap of coldness. They all looked at him stunned at his desperate behavior, but he didn't care.

"Thus with a kiss I die…. Right Arthur?"

Arthur's eyes grew wide as he saw Alfred reaching for Natalia's knives that were slowly slipping from her cold fingers.

"NO ALFRED!"

Before anyone could stop him Alfred plunged the slender throwing knife into his heart. As he bleeds out the last thing Alfred could hear were the nation's cries of shock and fear. He only had eyes for her as he fell forwards, a peaceful smile on his face.

He was meeting her over there.

Arthurs POV

He was too late.

They were all too late.

The other nations were silenced after their initial fright. Everyone looked shell shocked. The memories of that filed, of the America he knew as a child flashed through Arthur's mind as he suddenly wheeled on Ivan who looked like he was in a daze.

Francis was the first to react as he grabbed Arthur from behind to keep him from launching himself at Russia.

"LET ME GO YOU BLOODY FROG! YOU KILLED THEM IVAN! YOU KILLED THEM!"

Francis was struggling to keep Arthur held back as Russia kept on looking at them with a blank look in his eyes.

"Arthur he did not kill Alfred! Alfred… Alfred… He did it himself!"

Arthur struggled some more until he finally wore himself out and Francis released him.

Ivan finally looked at them fully, his eyes were purple and he seemed on the verge of tears, something unusual for the usually "cheerful" nation.

"I….I'm sorry… For all of this."

No one knew what to say to that, what do you say when the Soviet Union has just apologized?

What do you say when a person that you raised, your little brother, has just killed themselves?

There is nothing that you can say, and so they remained silent while Arthur moved over to the lovers bodies. Alfred had fallen beside of Natalia and if it wasn't for the blood they would have looked like they were just sleeping. For a person that had just killed himself Alfred finally looked peaceful as he rested beside Natalia.

Arthur wouldn't have it.

They couldn't just be dead.

"I'm going to fix this. I don't care how, but I will…"

The others looked up at him stunned. Ivan was the first to speak.

"How?"


End file.
